I Want to Be with Him in Paradise

Some people wonder if they can live their whole lives in sin, then make a turn to Jesus in the end and be saved.  After all, the thief on the cross did it, right?  I personally wouldn’t want to chance it.  The thief on the cross got to experience Christ in the flesh.  He saw, heard, sensed something about Jesus that made him change.  Putting it off until tomorrow is similar to Russian roulette, because none of us know our departure time.  And even if we did, would our repentance be sincere?  Or would we just be trying to escape the hell of the burning pit that awaits us?  I do believe last minute confessions and repentance is possible, but why gamble with our life?  We spend our whole lives wrestling with things we should or should not have done, and things we should or should not have said.  Sincere change is the key.  Though we give our lives to Christ we are still sinners, and we sin often.  But we must try hard not to, and instead try to live the best life we can, loving others and doing good, all for the glory of God.  Jesus came because God knew we cannot do it alone.  Giving up an only child and willingly sacrificing His life for sinners, is love too great to comprehend, even for the criminal who spoke with Him personally.

Just before the crucifixion of Christ in Luke 23:40-43 we read, “But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die?  We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.”  Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”  And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”  Greater love have no man than this…  How can anyone understand that kind of love and compassion?  But this thief figured something out, and just in the nick of time.  He made the sincere change in his heart required to become one in Christ.  We may not be as fortunate.  I was in my 40’s when I finally committed my life to Christ and allowed God to use me.  I thought I was having fun living a life of sin, but I was feeling a tug on my heart.  It wasn’t like I was avoiding God.  In my mind, I wanted to make the commitment once and be true to it.  Christ was nailed to the cross for all who repent, and it was my time.   Since my change, I detest sin.  From bad behavior, foul language, some secular music, some TV shows, immodest dress, and immoral habits, it just doesn’t appeal to me anymore.  Yes, there are things I still struggle with personally, but I know I must continue the fight.  It’s in the messiness and nastiness of the world, that Jesus finds us and cleans us up.  There is a legitimate change in my life, as it will be in yours, if you choose Christ.

God is waiting on you.  He is holding back His wrath so more can come to Him.  When Jesus returns in the clouds, it will be too late. In 2 Peter 3:9 it says, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”  I hear people say they don’t know if they believe in God, but they believe in something.  What?  Others believe in straight foolishness.  There is no other explanation of why we are here, and how the world exists, than from people who were here when it happened.  Witnesses to the miracles, keepers of the documentation, people who lived it.  How else is it possible, could anything exist and function and cycle the way it does, except from a Creator, a Higher Power?  Our Creator, our God, and our Savior lives!  And He is waiting for His loved ones to recognize Him, and turn to Him.  Our Almighty wants to love us, and for us to be love; wants to have relationship with us, and for us to have relationship with each other; wants us to show Him to the world, by the way we live and treat one another.  It is through our glorification that others will see the Father, and want their own relationship with Him.  I want to be with Him in paradise.  Waiting until the end is not an option.  When is the end?  Our end began, the day we were born.  Our time is now, before our time is up.